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Tuesday, 10 December 2013

No repeat of Brazil fans` violence at World Cup: FIFA

No repeat of Brazil fans` violence at World Cup: FIFA

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 09:28

Sao
Paulo: Shocking violence at a Brazilian championship match is not an
indication of what can be expected when the South American country hosts
next year`s World Cup, FIFA and Brazilian government officials said on
Monday.

Three people were seriously injured when fans fought
running battles at the Atletico Paranaense v Vasco da Gama match on
Sunday and at least 30 people have been killed in incidents in and
around Brazil`s stadiums this year.

Sunday`s game on the final
day of the season had to be halted for 70 minutes and players broke down
in tears as they watched fans chase each other round the terraces,
trading blows with home-made clubs and weapons.

Brazil`s Sports Ministry condemned the violence and called for swift punishment for hooligans.

It
also said it would consult with public prosecutors and police chiefs
over security at matches. There were no police inside the Arena
Joinville where Sunday`s game took place because the home side had opted
to use private security guards.

President Dilma Rousseff also
condemned the troublemakers and called for a special police station to
be set up to deal with football-related incidents.

"I can assure
you the lamentable scenes we saw yesterday will not be seen at the World
Cup," said Andrei Rodrigues, the special secretary of major events at
the Justice Ministry.

"We can assure you that the stadiums at the
World Cup will have at least 200 camera feeds providing real time video
and what happened yesterday cannot happen at the World Cup."

However,
some stadiums in use already have CCTV but they are not always used to
identify or track down troublemakers. Many of the hooligans belong to
organised fan clubs sponsored by the clubs themselves.

DARKEST DAYS

The
scenes brought back memories of the darkest days of European football
in the 1980s and provided further proof that football violence is
worsening in Brazil.

"Something has changed, and for the worse,"
said Mauricio Murad, a Rio de Janeiro sociologist who wrote the book
`How To Understand Football Violence`.

"Over the last five or six
years violence inside stadiums was under control and it was only bad
outside the grounds. What we`ve seen over the last few weekends is a
return to violence inside the stadiums."

Murad slated authorities for neglecting to take action against a problem they can see is getting worse.

Lance, Brazil`s best-selling sports newspaper, said 234 people had been killed in football violence since 1988.

The
paper recently described the organised fan groups "gangsters dressed up
as football fans" and blamed the authorities for not doing more.

The
paper suggested police take simple steps such as making known hooligans
report to police stations on match days, a tactic that was successful
in England.

"The problem is not the lack of laws but the lack of
commitment and rigour shown by authorities in upholding the laws that
exist," the paper said in a front-page editorial in October after fans
fought with police at the Sao Paulo derby between Sao Paulo and
Corinthians.

On Monday, the paper printed the colourful World Cup
logo in black and white. The tournament will be held in South America
next year for the first time since 1978.

FIFA was quick to tell
fans they should not fear violence at next year`s tournament which will
be held in 12 new or totally modernised stadiums across the country.

Unlike
Sunday`s game, which was organised by local clubs under the auspices of
the Brazilian Football Confederation, World Cup matches are organised
by FIFA and will count on heavy security both inside and outside the
stadiums.

In addition, only eight percent of tickets for each match go directly to the fans of the teams involved.

"For
the 2014 FIFA World Cup a very comprehensive security concept is in
place in an integrated operation between private and public security
authorities to ensure the safety for fans, players and any other
stakeholder involved in the event," FIFA said in a statement.

"The
concept has worked very well during the FIFA Confederations Cup (in
Brazil this year) and is built on models used at previous FIFA World
Cups."

The worry for Brazilians is not just what goes on during the World Cup, but also what will happen afterwards.

Authorities say the new stadiums
will attract more sophisticated supporters who will watch the match in
safer and more comfortable surroundings.

Yet some of the most depressing incidents this year took place in stadiums built for the World Cup.

Fans
from Vasco and Corinthians battled each other and police at the Mane
Garrincha stadium in Brasilia in August, just three months after Brazil
kicked off the Confederations Cup at the same venue.

"If things
change it is not because we have new stadiums but because we have
policies in place designed to prevent, repress and educate," Murad said.

"That`s the only way that things are going to change."
Reuters --------------- ZEENEWS.com